Things can change suddenly.  Have you been enjoying a time when life is going well, and you are seeing good things happen, then everything changes?  This happened to the disciples.

 

What a day it had been!  Crowds had gathered on a mountainside, overlooking the lake.  Not only had Jesus healed many, but the disciples had seen an incredible miracle.  More than 5000 people had been fed, from just 5 loaves and 2 fish, and they had helped.  Yet within hours, they were in the midst of a storm.

One moment they were with Jesus, and the next, they felt totally alone.  There have been times in my life too when I have been enjoying all that God is doing, when a storm has suddenly arisen.  The light turns to darkness and the presence of Jesus seems so far away.  Have you ever gone through a time like that?

 

For hours the disciples battled the wind and waves, and even though they were experienced fishermen, they were struggling.  Why hadn’t Jesus come?  Why had he asked them to leave without him?  Yet Jesus knew what was happening, and he could see the situation they were in.  He sees our situation too, and although we may feel he has left us, he is close by.

 

As the disciples push hard against the wind, they see an unusual movement on the water.  They are terrified!  Is it a person?  No, a person cannot walk on water.  It must be a ghost.  When we face a storm in our lives, Jesus sees and comes to us, but it is not always in the way we expect.  Although the disciples did not recognize Jesus, they knew it was his voice.  “It is I: don’t be afraid.” 

 

Are you in the midst of a storm right now, then listen for his voice.  It’s a voice you will learn to recognize more and more as you follow him.  And he may be saying the same words to you today, “It is I: don’t be afraid.”